Assessment of a person's functional ability, physical health, cognition, and mental health is usually initiated when a physician identifies a potential problem. Specific elements of physical health that may be evaluated include nutrition, vision, hearing, fecal and urinary continence, and balance. Assessment aids in diagnosis of medical conditions, development of treatment and follow-up plans, coordination of management of care, and evaluation of any long-term care needs.
One problem with assessment is that it can take time, requiring a person's time and the time of his or her physician. Another problem with assessments is that, because of demands of a busy clinical practice, many assessments tend to be less comprehensive and more problem-directed. Assessment can also be inconvenient for a person being assessed and/or for his or her physician as one or both may need to travel for the assessment. Additionally, assessments may be often not as frequent or as regular as would be desired to obtain more comprehensive data, due to the above mentioned problems.